Auckland building consents: Tragic

The only word to describe the latest building consent figures for Auckland is ‘tragic’, Labour’s Housing spokesperson Phil Twyford says.

“Whatever the Government is doing to address the Auckland housing crisis, it is clearly not working.

“Today’s data shows Auckland building consents have declined for two months in a row. The numbers of consents for the city are now less than half what they were in November: 967 in November, 630 in December, and 482 in January

“Nationwide, even on a seasonally-adjusted basis, consents fell 3.8 per cent this month. When you exclude the number for apartments - which include retirement villages and are prone to variation – they fell 7.5 per cent.

“At last month’s rate, Auckland would build only 5784 houses over a year when it needs 13,000 just to keep up with population growth.

“This pathetic build rate, combined with record immigration, banks falling over themselves to offer mortgage finance, and rampant property speculation, means Auckland’s out of control house price inflation will just continue under this National Government.”